Rolling Stones fans Mary DeMartinis, left, Antoinette Bela, and her daughters Hedy and Tiger, stopped in San Jose Wednesday as part of their pricey road trip attending the first five 50 and Counting tour stops. / Marco della Cava, USA TODAY

by Marco della Cava, USA TODAY

by Marco della Cava, USA TODAY

SAN JOSE - The Rolling Stones rock 'n roll circus thundered through its third city Wednesday night, leaving fans breathless with its ageless wonders (Mick Jagger could start his own line of fitness videos), beguiling apparitions (John Fogerty and Bonnie Raitt joined the mayhem) and genuine rock monsters (at this point Keith Richards is more living riff god than mere ax man).

But second only to the chatter about the show's pure satisfaction was talk about ticket prices. The fabled British band came in for some criticism when it announced that seats for its 50 and Counting tour would cost upward of $600, with VIP packages tripling that top sum. Conversations with a range of fans at HP Pavilion revealed that some were chapped by the prices, others found a way around them and none regretted making the pilgrimage, even if it meant a few lean days ahead.

"It'll be Top Ramen (noodles) for me for a while," said Hedy Bela of Los Angeles, who along with her sister, Tiger, mother Antoinette, and their cousin Mary DeMartinis decided to break the bank and attend the first five Stones shows (next up Las Vegas and then Anaheim).

"Let's just say we had a budget and then that went out the window," said Bela. "It's a lot, sure, but when you see them perform, it's worth every dime. You can't put a price on an experience like this."

DeMartinis said the group was fortunate enough to score $85 tickets to the opening show in Los Angeles, which wound up placing them in the Stones' vaunted "Tongue Pit," a club-like, standing-room-only zone in front of the stage enclosed by a circular ramp which Jagger uses to strut his stuff. "A lot of our friends look at us like we're crazy spending what we are, but I don't have a problem with it."

When Craig Zavala of Riverbank, Calif., first heard what Stones tickets would cost, he balked. "I've never seen them and they're not getting younger, but those high prices ticked me off," he said, adding that he didn't blame the band. "After all, they played that (warm-up) gig in L.A. for $20 (before the Staples Center tour opener), but I know how the ticket business works."

Zavala's strategy? Fire up his StubHub app and monitor it daily. He soon saw prices for some tickets slipping south. Mere hours before Wednesday's show, he pounced on a pair for $690 whose face-value price was nearly double that. "I feel pretty good about how it all worked out," he said.

Mike Erikson of Incline Village, Nev., hopped on Ticketmaster's site the instant tickets went on sale. Fearful he'd miss out, he immediately rolled the dice on eight $2,000 VIP packages, which included seats in the first few rows (which start just after the standing-room zone), easy and early entry to the venue, a gift bag and dinner. His excitement about the special treatment fizzled, however, when he had to pay for an alcoholic drink in the VIP lounge.

"I thought that would be fully covered with a $2,000 ticket, to be honest," he said. "As a veteran concert-goer, I'm willing to pay extra for, well, extra. But I'm not sure I'm getting that. We'll see. I'm sure the show will great, which will make up for it all."

There was no mistaking the mood of Mike Jensen of San Francisco, whose ear-to-ear grin telegraphed his fortunate tale.

Jensen had scored a pair of $85 mystery tickets and fully expected to wind up in the proverbial nosebleed seats. Instead, Jensen and his girlfriend were about 15 feet from Jagger and Co. in the pit, rocking out to some of the most iconic songs of the last half-century.

"Let's just say this is a cool upgrade," said Jensen, who had forked over $200 a ticket for distant seats at Sunday's show in Oakland. "I can understand that some people might be upset, but somehow it all works out."

As if to make the point, Jagger and a choir slipped into a familiar refrain, the irrepressible frontman belting out his sermon's plea: You can't always get what you want, but sometimes, you get what you need.